Three Years (Limited Edition)

Description

Limited Edition of 600 copies, 168 pages 240mm x 365 mm
关于上海拍摄的几点
A Few Points Regarding the Shanghai Shoot
发端：近三十年来，中国以至上海有很大的发展，应是五千年来的大变改。但不要因为走得太远，以致于忘了自己为什么出发。在大规模的城市改造中，消失了许多东西，以致于我们要问：我们从哪儿来？我们在做什么？我们将到哪儿去？于是我们需要用艺术的方式，来连接那些消失了的城市记忆。探讨文化断层那些有意义的浪花。
Beginnings: In the past thirty years, China, Shanghai in particular, has seen great development, one of the greatest shifts in thousands of years. But one must never forget why he set out in the first place, simply because he went too far. In this large scale urban reconstruction, many things have been lost, to the point that many people have begun to ask, where did we come from? What are we doing? Where are we going? Thus, we need to use artistic methods to connect those disappeared memories of the city, to explore those meaningful tangents in this cultural rift.
构思：我一直想探求一种多数人和少数人之间的哲学关系， 这种关系在中国的近现代的历史中显得尤为重要，我们将这次拍摄分为三个历史阶段。即灰白民国时期，红色经典时期，和金色当代时期。在这三个时期中，灰白民国时期的上海是少数洋人和买办以他们的摩登生活方式影响了多数人，而红色经典时期也是少数人的理想通过多数人而得以实现，为今天的腾飞打下了基础。而金色当代则是多数人和少数人相互影响，互为依存的时代。实现了中国经济强盛的中国梦。
Concept: I have always wanted to seek out a certain philosophical relationship between the majority and the minority. This relationship seems to figure importantly in modern Chinese history. Our photo shoot this time is split into three historical phases: the black-and-white Republican era, the red classic era and the golden contemporary era. During the black-and-white Republican era, a minority of foreigners and Chinese compradors influenced the majority through their modern lifestyle. In the red classic era, the ideals of a minority were realized through the majority, and the foundation was laid for today’s soaring growth. The golden contemporary era is one where minorities and majorities influence each other and depend on each other, realizing the Chinese dream of economic strength.
方式：本次拍摄主要是采取了三种方式来拍摄：一是用捕拍的方式，何谓捕拍呢？就是在每一个我们所选取的场景中，按构思让演员和群演乱场开演，演到符合构思和精彩之时叫停，并保持其所演出的姿态，由在镜头中调整各个演出组团的位置，使之达到最佳。反复几次，直到满意才按下快门。这样的好处是人和景的关系能够达到合一，形象生动而不是摆拍的呆板。二是用活报剧的方式。我们知道，活报剧就是活的报纸，是起源于上海的戏剧方式，那是在抗日战争时期，上海的左翼文化人考虑到当时的国民多为文盲，对抗日救国和时事消息解读有困难，就用活报剧的方式来宣传抗日。那我们今天用此方式来演绎每个场景的故事并和现场观众形成互动而达到历史穿越的效果，形成上海的前世今生文化影像。三是用虚实的方式，就像中国的书法，有正楷，行书，草书。而今日全球摄影追求的都是超实，超细，就像书法中的正楷，而我们要做是用速度的快慢和演员的结合拍出虚实相间的影像，就像书法中的行草，那以此来表达对历史的追思和城市的记忆。
Methods: This photography project mainly employs three methods. The first is capture photography. What is capture photography? In this method, we have our actors and extras randomly play out their assigned roles in a chosen setting, and when they reach the desired effect, we order them to freeze. We then make slight adjustments in positioning for greatest effect, repeating the process several times until we are satisfied enough to take the picture. This method allows for a union between people and place, creating a vivid image rather than a dull, arranged effect. The second is the living news drama method. The “living news drama” is a dramatic form with its roots in Shanghai opera. It arose in the years of Japanese occupation, when Shanghai leftists, aware that much of their audience was illiterate, produced plays to promote the resistance against Japan. Today, we use this method to act out the stories in their various settings and to interact with audiences to effect a passage to history, creating a cultural image of Shanghai past and present. The third method is both real and virtual, akin to the regular, cursive and wild scripts of Chinese calligraphy. Global photography today always pursues super-realism and fineness, like the regular script of Chinese calligraphy. We use varying speeds and actors to create photographic images that rest somewhere between the real and virtual, much like the cursive script of calligraphy, in an expression of our pursuit of history and the memories of a city.

2013 陈家刚
Chen Jiagang
2013